Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31201565›Full record

ReviewEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2019

Diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for intervertebral disc degeneration: a critical review.

Kalliopi Alpantaki, Alkisti Kampouroglou, Christos Koutserimpas, Grigoris Effraimidis, Alexander Hadjipavlou

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
52citing papers in PubMed
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

52 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  5. PI3KCD gene expression and its role in diabetic intervertebral disc degeneration running title: PI3KCD gene crucial for diabetic IDH.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026
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  15. Association between metabolism and low back pain: a cross-sectional study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025
    Article
  16. Effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy: a retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Kalliopi AlpantakiDepartment of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Venizeleio General Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0185-8474
Alkisti KampouroglouDepartment of Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics and Spinal Surgery RMK Kliniken Schorndorf, Schorndorf, Germany.
Christos KoutserimpasDepartment of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, "251" Hellenic Air Force General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Grigoris EffraimidisDepartment of Medical Endocrinology PE 2132, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Alexander HadjipavlouDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA. ahadjipa@yahoo.com.
Copenhagen University Hospital · DKHellenic Air Force · GRThe General Hospital of Heraklion "Venizeleio-Pananio" · GRThe University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo examine to what extent diabetes mellitus (DM) is implicated as a distinct mechanism in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD).

methodsThe published clinical and laboratory data relevant to this matter are critically reviewed. A total of 12 clinical studies evaluate the association between DM and degenerative changes such as IVDD, spinal stenosis (SS) and IVD herniation. A total of 34 laboratory research papers evaluate the association between DM and IVDD.

resultsThere are 7 studies that correlate DM with IVDD, 4 of them showing that DM is a significant risk factor for degeneration, and 3 of them failing to establish any association. Three studies demonstrate significant association between DM and SS. However, 2 of these studies also include patients with IVD herniation that failed to demonstrate any correlation with DM. Two other studies indicate a significant association between DM and lumbar disc herniation. Multiple different mechanisms, acting independently or interactively, cause tissue damage leading to IVDD including: microangiopathy of the subchondral vertebral endplate, cellular senescence, cell death (through apoptosis or autophagy), hyperglycaemia, advance glycation end products, adipokines, and cytokines (through oxidative, osmotic, and inflammatory mechanisms).

conclusionThe clinical evidence is not consistent, but weakly supports the relationship between DM and IVDD. However, the laboratory studies consistently suggest that DM interferes with multipronged aberrant molecular and biochemical pathways that provoke IVDD. Taken as a whole, the strong laboratory evidence and the weak clinical studies implicate DM as a distinct contributing factor for IVDD. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Indexed as

Intervertebral Disc DegenerationIntervertebral Disc DisplacementAdolescentAdultChildDiabetes ComplicationsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsYoung AdultClinical studiesDiabetes mellitusHyperglycaemiaIntervertebral disc degenerationMolecular and biochemical mechanisms

Identifiers

PMID31201565
OpenAlexW2953193376

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.